Feline Faults
ChipsAhoyPup
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Never have, never will. (This doesn't stop me from wishing I did, though.)
A/N Please note that I am against animal cruelty. I am in the Animal Society, a club in my school. In the club, we went to the flea market one day and went around collecting money for animal shelters. I brought my dog with me. He just loved the attention.
But, as I was saying, everything and anything that happens in this story that can be related to animal cruelty… It's not something I agree with. It's simply crucial to the plot. If you are personally offended by this story due to the relations with animal cruelty, then just don't read it, I suppose. But the story's FICTION. Which means it DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN. (Heck, the SITE'S even called fanFICTION.) So no animals were harmed in the making of this story.
All I'm trying to say is this: I understand why this story would upset certain people. And I'm sorry. I hate animal cruelty as much as an ant hates a magnifying glass.
L jolted awake, panic-stricken. It took him a good couple of minutes to slow down his rapidly-beating heart. He had had a nightmare, which, of course, was about his previous master. It was exactly what had actually happened, except it was faster. It began with that fateful night where he was chained to a tree. The three days following replayed in his head on fast-forward, until finally, the dog came hurdling at him. And at that point, he had woken up.
Panting, the black cat shook his fur out in an attempt to shake off the nightmare. It didn't take much; the nightmare began evaporating from his memory, faster and faster, until finally, he had no idea why he was so scared in the first place.
"L? Are you awake?" Someone called from the other room. At first, L instinctively thought it was his master. But then, he recalled everything that happened. Including the memory of the day before. The day that he was brought into this temporary shelter.
"Okay. This is me and Matt's house," Mello cheerfully announced, placing L on the carpeted floor. The cat surveyed his surroundings.
The carpet was a dull brown, which didn't match the yellow walls at all. A turquoise couch was pressed up against the right wall of the room, facing the TV that was on the left side of the room. A dog bed sat huddled against the corner of the room; golden fur littered the white wool of the bed. Past this hideous room was the kitchen. The frosted tiles were layered with mutli-colored stains. The counters were an ugly shade of gray, and were cluttered with candy wrappers and unopened chocolate bars. The refrigerator was smeared with a cocoa-colored material (hopefully from the chocolate.) There was a small microwave on one of the counters, hidden by the tower of wrappers.
And then there was the bathroom. It didn't even look qualified to be called a bathroom. It was practically a closet with a toilet, sink, and teeny tiny bath tub in it. As for Matt's bathroom… well, it was a pile of newspapers stacked up enough so that it wouldn't leak through the gazette and onto the floor. L wrinkled his nose in disgust; the house smelt like a mixture of sugar and dog droppings.
All in all, this was definitely not his master's house. Not even close. But, L supposed, if this was going to get him a new owner, then it was worth it.
L noticed that there was a room that was closed off by a door. Curious, he padded up to it and raised a paw, ready to push it open forcefully. But, before he could move another muscle, Mello snapped, "Don't!"
L was lightly shoved aside by a foot, which was evidently connected to Mello. The cat blinked, cocking his head to the side. He stared at Mello with wide, inquiring eyes. "I… I'm sorry. But that's my room. I don't even let Matt in there."
Said dog glanced up at his master when he heard his name. Mello smirked, leaning down to stroke his dog's golden head. Matt panted contentedly, his tail violently slashing from side-to-side. L leapt out of the way as the tawny tail of doom came rushing towards him. The cat backed away, watching the two from a respectful distance, his own tail drooping.
Seeing the two together, pet and master, master and pet, made the memories harshly rebound. It stung him like a swarm of wasps. He desperately wished for his master back. Or, at the very least, a new master, one who would unconditionally love him, as Mello did Matt.
All L would have to do was get through these next few days, and he'd get what he wished for.
After that, L remembered being treated with a large meal. He had gobbled down as much tuna and steak as he could (Matt's dog food was tuna-and-steak flavored; it wasn't legit tuna and steak, but it was satisfying enough) before dozing off. He slept comfortably for a long time, undisturbed.
And now, here he was, well-slept, fully-fed. He felt fairly refreshed, although he had to breath solely out of his mouth. Otherwise, he'd get a nose-full of unpleasant scents.
"L?" Mello called again, bringing L's thoughts back to the present. He quickly padded into the kitchen. Mello was sitting on the edge of the counter, a chocolate bar hanging out of his mouth. The wrapper was peeled back about a quarter of the way.
"Meow?" L mewed quizzically.
"I did my part of the deal--Well, my first part, but still--Now you have to do your part." Mello smirked into the sugar-filled substance that was still in his mouth. He grabbed a hold of the wrapper part and tugged downwards. The chocolate cracked loudly, a small part of the corner of the bar still gripped between his teeth.
L stared, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "You see, there's this… guy…" Mello began, gulping the chunk of chocolate that he had been chewing whilst he mused. "And he'll do anything to beat me. But, quite obviously, I'm always the winner. However… I think a little punishment is in order. Something that'll keep him in line.
"So, here's what you have to do." Mello rustled through his pants pocket. When his hand slid out of the pocket, he thrust it forward to reveal a picture of a childlike man with messy white hair. The "child" was wearing silky, white pajamas. He had one leg pressed against his chest, while the other was laying in front of him. It looked rather uncomfortable to L. Toys surrounded the boy, and he held a robot in his hand. The other hand was up near his head, his index finger curled around a lock of white hair.
All in all, it was the oddest human being L had ever seen. "You see this boy?" Mello pointed at the picture. L nodded solemnly. "I want you to go to his house… er, head quarters, I mean. You'll have to sneak past security first. But anyways, once you arrive at his head quarters, don't even give him a chance to blink. Jump at him at the first chance you get. Scratch him up good." Mello beamed, as if the mental image of the albino boy with claw marks gouged in his face was the best thing ever.
"Here's a map to his headquarters." He picked up a piece of paper that had been laying next to him and gave it to L. The cat took it in his mouth. "Oh, and…" Mello rustled through his pocket again, this time pulling out a camera. "Find a way to take a picture. This is the power button,"—an indication towards a button on the top of the camera—"and this is the button you press to take the picture. Oh, and make sure you're pointing this lens right at him, or else you'll be taking a picture of the floor or something.
"You probably won't be able to carry this all, so…" Mello leaped down from the counter, nearly stomping on L. He quickly scrambled out of the way, avoiding the feet that slammed down on the ground next to him. He couldn't help but imagine what would've happened if he had still been standing there. Meanwhile, Mello was rummaging through cabinets in search of something. "Here it is," He declared, holding up a plastic bag. He carefully placed the camera and the picture into the bag. He brought it over to the black cat, slipping the handles over L's head. The bag hung in front of L's chest. "Now all you have to do is lean down and pull something out of the bag when ever you need it." Mello looked triumphant, as if his plan was the most genius plan ever.
L twitched his tail-tip. He was pretending that this would be easy to do. However, he was beginning to panic. He knew that if he made one wrong move, the albino boy's security would attack him. Or, even worse, if he didn't do the job correctly, Mello might never take him to a new master.
"Okay. I expect you back by…" The blonde glanced at the clock. L couldn't help but do the same. It was currently 10:21 a.m. "2 o' clock. That should give you plenty of time. And if you're not back by 2 on the dot, you earn yourself an extra day of doing what ever I want."
L's ears pricked upwards, and he nodded frantically, wide-eyed. One more day of service meant one more day of being without a master. "Now get going," Mello ordered. Fur bristled, the cat trotted briskly towards the door.
Which was locked shut. L blinked his huge, round eyes. He reached a paw up and extended his claws. Scrriiittcchhh. There were now four deep, long scars running down along the door. Mello walked in upon hearing the noise which had sounded like fingernails scraping a chalkboard. When he saw the damage done to the door, his eyes widened. The chocolate bar that had been sticking out of his mouth fell, landing softly on the filthy, auburn carpet.
"…Well. I guess it's my fault for not leaving the door open," Mello muttered, heading towards the door. "I can't wait to see what those destructive claws will do to Near," The blonde said to himself with a little chuckle. L figured that 'Near' was the kid that he had to maul.
The chocolate addict opened the door, and L didn't waste any time. He dashed outside, the map still caught in his jaws. It was time to do his part of the deal.